One for the blue bloods...
Sometimes a car comes along with a bit of celebrity ‘provenance’. It might be a Porsche owned by the Beckhams or an ex-Jay Kay Lambo. But more often than not the celebrity connection – and the calibre of said celeb – is often dubious to say the least.
Not so here. The rather unassuming Daimler you see in these pics isn’t quite your usual one-lady-owner used motor. Or rather it is, but the one lady owner is rather unusual. You see, the contact address for this car’s owner between 2001 and 2005 was one E. Windsor, Buckingham Palace, London.
That’s right: this long-wheelbase 4.0-litre Daimler Super Sport was the Queen’s personal transport for four years and almost certainly the only car commissioned by the queen to be offered for general sale.
'Handbag rest' unique to this car
The car was run in by Jaguar for 2500 miles to iron out any problems, after which Lizzy covered 11,000 miles in it, driving herself to Windsor at weekends and Church on Sundays in it, and to more low-key social engagements.
At Her Majesty’s request, the car comes without ashtrays or cigarette lighters, and has what the seller describes as ‘a place to put her handbag when she had a front-seat passenger’ in a re-designed centre armrest.
The Daimler also has a full set of (fully functioning) strobes, flashing headlights and neon-blue lights either side of the rear-view mirror that can be controlled from a panel hidden by the J-gate gear selector.
Flashing lights work. Great for motorways...
There is also a direct radio link to the Home Office and Downing Street, although that has sadly been disconnected(!).
The car, which has now covered 14,000 miles, is being sold by Legends in Time – a company that ordinarily deals with motoring memorabilia. Of which, if you think about it, the Queen’s Daimler is a stunning example.
Vendor Peter Ratcliffe won’t name a price, but says that ‘genuine offers are welcome’.